Today's announcement from President Obama on the future in Iraq is encouraging. Removing roughly 100,000 troops from Iraq while leaving residual training and specialized forces is a huge step toward winding down the war. Those of us who served in Iraq have fought for this for years. We commend President Obama for having the clarity of vision to do what is right, and follow through with his promise to begin the process of redeploying from Iraq.
It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: The war in Iraq was one that should have never been waged, and one which led to years of lost opportunity in Afghanistan, billions of dollars wasted, a tarnished reputation around the world, and thousands of young American lives tragically lost. It made America less safe, and decimated our military. It is the main reason that VoteVets.org was formed. It's the reason that we've spent millions of dollars over the past few years to push policymakers to redeploy, not escalate, in Iraq.
Now, getting out of Iraq won't be quick, and it won't be easy. In many ways, it's tougher to get out of a war, than it is to get into it. As we leave, there may be casualties, and if there are, there's always the temptation to send forces back in.
But, the President must not give in to any temptation if that time comes. President Obama must continue this direction in Iraq, with the ultimate goal of having all troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011, or earlier, as agreed to in the Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government.
If President Obama does continue to draw down - and we believe he will - we will be more secure, and our military will now have a chance to repair the damage done to it by the previous administration.
You remember Afghanistan, right? That's the country that welcomed bin Laden, as he plotted and carried out the attacks of 9/11 (on America, not Europe). It was the country, under the Taliban, that outlawed woman from attending school. It was the country that required its women to bury themselves under walking body bags, to prevent a sliver of flesh from being revealed. Afghanistan is also the largest producer of opium worldwide, and has expanded production each year since 2004. It is the country where the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are currently resurgent and gaining ground. It is the country we should have focused on from the beginning. Aside from the false hysteria manufactured by the bush administration, there was never a reason to be in Iraq.
Jon:
Thanks for your service to the country and for the good work you continue at VoteVets........
Nam Vet
some of you think the war is over. Russia is claiming the Arctic circle (for minerals). Even planted a flag in the seabed. What will Obama do? Send them a card saying WELL DONE.
Basically, Petraeus and Crocker co opted the insurgency by buying off some local leaders, a standard and effective scheme always possible. That they could introduce a modicum of sanity into another Bush screw up is a credit to them. It indicates an enduring competence in our military and diplomatic agents once the ideologues are shamed off.
The United States always has the ability to withdraw from Iraq. All we have to do is leave. If we simply declare victory, nobody has any reason to deny us this little consolation. One thing modern armies do not do well is try to be policemen. They end up punishing civilians while the resistance gains popularity and support by "avenging" those civilian casualties.
More recently, our war in Vietnam, though a horrible success in many ways, inspired a resistance that totally replaced its soldiers as we killed them. At the end, the Cong made fearless but clumsy soldiers because of the constant replacement while their Generals were highly skilled as they survived and took lessons from experience.
Israel's futility in Gaza and Lebanon are other examples. They can kill all their enemies, but they can't make them quit. Like the Israeli, we are training adversaries in Afghanistan and Iraq. We can ride through, killing both those guilty of resistance and those who only wish to be ignored. We cannot win that way: There is nothing in Afghanistan for us to win. Killing Bin Laden would be nice and, if we hang around long enough, he will die a natural death sooner or later.
Obama won because of the GOP policies of deregulation & trickle down, and having 'no control
on Wall ST. McCain now agrees with Obama's 19 month plan to withdraw..How weird is that ?
We need to leave and bring the troops home. We can do it this quickly, in days, not months or years. And then Iraq will be Iraq.
But, what we have here is a very dicey situation. Any withdrawal of forces needs to happen very carefully and in the context of a serious diplomatic initiative, involving the US, UN and the regional and major powers, to facilitate a political settlement between and within the major groups in Iraq that is sustainable and that all Iraqis can live with. While the Iraqis are the only ones who can determine their political future, they are going to need a lot of support to get these negotiations going and to secure whatever accommodation that they are able to achieve.
And, it's not like any of this has been tried before and not been successful. Finally, we have an administration that understands exactly what will be required to responsibly withdraw US forces without leaving a failed and fragmented state in their wake. It seems to me that the Iraqi people are owed at least an honest effort to help them rebuild their country and their future.
If the withdrawal takes place quickly, in the absence or failure of political reconciliation at the national level, then we are all in for a very, very rough ride - Iraqis, the US, the region...and the rest of us out in the world, too!
Blind ideology is counterproductive, no matter what side it's on. Nancy Pelosi saying "50,000 sounds like a lot" isn't that far from Ben Nelson saying "$800 billion is just too much" -- which was arbitrary and unhelpful. Obama's greatest asset is his abilty to see multiple sides of an argument, listen to experts and laypeople alike, but in the end make a decision that gives appropriate weight to expertise, reason, and his own conscience. I don't agree with every decision he makes, but I respect the process he seems to use to reach them.
he pushed to invade Iraq. To suggest that it was all about oil, money and contracts would make him out to be some kind of power driven dictator. If you think that is the case then compare him with Saddam . Second, to suggest that all we have done in Iraq is kill and rape their country is insanity. My son is a Marine who served two tours in Iraq and his story of what went on for the majority of his two tours is vary different than the picture we get in the media. Did terrible things happen and were civilians killed? Yes,
that has happened in every war. But we never hear of all the good that has been done in Iraq by our country. Think of the fact that we have let them determine their own form of government. What other country would do that while helping them rebuild? Let us wait about ten years then draw our conclusions about the war in Iraq. It may be viewed completely different than it is now.
If you don't think it was about oil, money, and contracts, ask yourself why Bush didn't turn his conquistador temperament towards rearranging the extant government towards reconstruction of a different, even more, desperate country: like Haiti? I know, I know; he doesn't even know from Haiti -- but my point is that there are myriad places on earth in which the population is enslaved, terrorized, and murdered at the whim of their leaders. Poor, "insignificant" countries....OIL-less countries.
So -- why Iraq? Hmmmmm. Oil? Money? Contracts? Ya think? Hmmmmm.
If Bush was doing what you believe why not just take over the country. Plant a U.S. Flag and claim the country and the oil as ours. Let everyone that does not like it flee to syria, yemen, saudi arabia. your house or wherever.
You really incense me. Just what could we do in Haiti. What could we have done in Darfur/ If we picked a side there would be those that would consider us as aiding and abetting genocide. And they would be right because govt and the rebels have done unspeakable things.
Now we could have taken over the countries and established law.
You say there is nothing to gain in haiti. How about an island resort possibly a paradise. Just transport the rebellious natives to some other country like cuba or somebody else we do not like.
I did my time in Vietnam and I wish to God we would have had a president like this back in '71.
Most of the people who have been engaged in massive looting, pillaging, raping of our nation, stealing grandma's retirement, and having no feelings of compassion for the other people in this country whatsoever, are educated, wealthy, privileged, connected people. And that is how they behaved. It's quite a contrast with the very poorly-paid yet much more honorable people in our military services.
See: "Marines: Why Do They Call Them Jarheads" at http://NABNYC.blogspot.com [because the mason jar company converted during World War II and made Marine helmets].
There is nothing to be proud of. It was a crime fromn beginning to end. End th eoccupation of Iraq and the dreams of world empire. Bring all the troops home from all the countries of the world if we want security.